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Centennials rally comes up short in 5-3 loss to Sherwood

Centennial's baseball team got off to a sluggish start and couldn't recover in time during a 5-3 loss to Sherwood in the first round of an Aloha tournament Thursday, June 22.

The Bowmen strung together five straight hits and batted through their lineup in the first inning to take a quick 5-0 lead. But Sherwood got just one runner past first base the rest of the way.

Centennial pitcher Dustin Tanquary found his groove, retiring the Bowmen in order in the second and third innings, and allowing just one more hit.

'Dustin did a good job after a rough start,' Eagles' manager Brent Child said. 'He had good command of his off-speed pitch and his curveball, and he was able to keep the hitters off balance.'

Centennial started to show signs of life in the middle of the game when Jake Shoda hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field in the third inning, and Beau Day led off the fourth with a home run.

The Eagles had a chance to pull even after drawing a series of walks to load the bases in the fifth inning, but back-to-back grounders ended the threat.

Centennial put the tying run on base in the sixth inning after T.J. Anderson hit an RBI-single through the middle of the infield to cut the gap to 5-3. Once more, chopper in the dirt sent the Eagles back to the dugout.

'We always felt like we could comeback,' Anderson said. 'We got some hits that gave us hope, but we still needed to rally a little more.'

Centennial's final chance came in the seventh inning when Eddie Burton blasted a hard liner off the second baseman's chest to load the bases with one out. But Sherwood escaped harm with a strikeout and a fly ball to right field to end the game.